Forms

How to write a performance review

Write a performance review by comparing what the employee achieved against the goals agreed at the start of the period, with specific examples, then give a rating from a defined scale, name what they did best and the one change that matters most, and agree the next period's goals. The employee's own comment goes in before anyone signs.

Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder

5 min read · Published 21 October 2026

To write a performance review, compare what the employee achieved against the goals agreed at the start of the period, giving a specific example for each, then choose a rating from a defined scale, name what they did best and the one change that would make the biggest difference, and agree the goals for the next period. The employee’s own comment is recorded before anyone signs.

Start from the goals, not the memory

A review written from memory over-weights the last month and the most memorable mistake. A review written against the goals agreed at the start of the period is fair and checkable. Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman describes the same practice in its best practice guide on managing underperformance: meet employees to set clear performance expectations, record their individual goals and training needs, and give regular, specific and timely feedback about what they do well and what they can improve.

So step one is to pull out last period’s objectives. For each, write one or two sentences on what happened, with dates and numbers where they exist.

The structure of a review

The performance review form on this site follows six sections, which is a good order for any review:

Who and what period. Employee, role, reviewing manager, the kind of review (annual, mid year, end of probation) and the date of the conversation.
The objectives set last time. A table of each objective and what happened, plus anything that changed the ground under them, such as a restructure or a long absence.
How the work was done. A grid rating each part of the role as below, at or above the level, with a not seen column so a manager does not guess.
The overall picture. One rating from five bands, whether it has moved since the last period, what they did best, and the one thing that would make the biggest difference.
What the next period is for. New objectives, the next check in and any development spend.
The employee’s own words. Their comment, whether they agree with the rating, and signatures.

Writing the evidence

Good evidence is something a second reader could check. “Great attitude” is not evidence; “answered 94% of tickets within the four hour target and covered the Saturday roster for six weeks” is. The phrase bank under this article ties an evidence sentence to each of the example’s five rating bands, with blanks to fill.

Two rules keep it fair. Describe work, not personality. And keep each strength and each concern tied to an example from the period, not from a previous year.

Choosing the rating

Use a scale with written meanings so that two managers would give the same rating for the same work. The example uses five bands: did not meet the role, met most of the role, met the role, exceeded the role, and outstanding, and repeatably so. The last one is deliberately hard to reach; a single great month is exceeded, not outstanding. If the rating has changed from last period, say why in one sentence.

The one change

Name a single change that would make the biggest difference next period, not a list of eight. One clear priority gets done. Turn it into one of next period’s objectives, with how it will be measured.

The conversation

Fair Work’s guidance on discussing performance problems is practical: tell the employee about the meeting in advance, give them copies of any documents beforehand, explain the impact with specific examples, give them the opportunity to respond, and listen. For a formal underperformance meeting, it notes the employee can bring a support person. Ask for their view before finalising anything, and record whether they agree.

If the review leads to a formal improvement plan, that is a separate document with its own goals and dates, and the performance management policy example shows how a business sets the rules for both. The 360 review page covers gathering feedback from colleagues as well, and the 360 feedback form shows one.

A worked example

The fictional Tessmore Logistics reviews its customer service lead, Priya, at the end of the year. Last year’s three objectives were to answer 90% of tickets within four hours, to write a knowledge base of the twenty most common questions, and to train two new starters. The review records that 94% of tickets were answered within four hours, that the knowledge base reached fourteen articles because a system migration took six weeks of her time, and that both new starters were signed off by March.

The grid rates communication and problem solving above the level, and planning at the level. The overall rating is exceeded the role, up one band from last year, because the response time result was achieved while covering a vacancy. What she did best is described so others would recognise it: she rewrote the escalation template, and complaints reaching a manager fell. The one change is to finish the remaining knowledge base articles before taking on new projects, which becomes the first objective for next year with a target of twenty articles by June. Priya’s comment notes the migration, she agrees with the rating, and both sign.

In the product

A review form is a classic form with a table for objectives, a rating grid for parts of the role, dropdowns for the overall rating, long text for the narrative and a signature field. A table shows a fixed number of rows set in the builder, and a required grid counts as answered once any one row has an answer, so check every row is filled before signing. Responses export to CSV with one column per question; a grid’s rows are joined into a single column as statement and answer pairs. The rating matrix page shows the grid, and the guide to viewing and exporting responses shows the export.

A phrase bank tied to the five rating bands of the performance review example on this site. Each phrase names evidence a second reader could check; replace the bracketed parts with the facts of the period.
Rating band	What it means	Evidence phrase to adapt
Did not meet the role	Core parts of the job were not done to standard	Missed [number] of [number] agreed deadlines for [task], each followed up in writing on [dates]
Met most of the role	The job was done with clear gaps	Delivered [main objective] on time; [second objective] is still open because [reason]
Met the role	The job was done to the standard agreed	Met all three objectives, including [result], with no rework needed
Exceeded the role	Above the standard in ways others noticed	Cut [measure] from [before] to [after] and trained [number] colleagues to do the same
Outstanding, and repeatably so	Exceptional and sustained, not a single good month	Led [project] to [result] and repeated it in [second case] across the period

A finished example

Most review forms fail in the same place: the objectives from last period are nowhere on the page, so the rating gets argued from memory. This one puts them in a table with the measure beside them, keeps the behaviour grid to six statements with a "not seen" column, allows exactly one rating, and gives the employee a box to disagree in writing. It is a classic form, because a manager writing it up needs the whole record visible at once.

Read the performance review form

Questions people ask

How do I write a performance review for an employee?

Start from the goals set at the beginning of the period, and for each one write what happened with a specific example. Then give a rating from a scale everyone understands, name what they did best and the one change that would make the biggest difference, agree next period's goals, and leave room for the employee's own comment.

What should I avoid saying in a performance review?

Personality labels, comparisons with colleagues, anything about health, family or other protected matters, and surprises. Words such as lazy or not a team player describe a person, not work. If something in the review is news to the employee, the feedback came too late; Fair Work's guidance describes best practice as regular, specific feedback throughout the year.

Should the employee see the rating first?

Many managers share a draft or ask for a self assessment before the meeting, so the conversation is about the evidence rather than the reaction to a number. Fair Work's guidance on managing underperformance recommends telling an employee about the meeting in advance and giving them copies of any documents beforehand. Either way, nothing should be final until they have responded.

How many rating levels should a review use?

Four or five, each with a written meaning. The example here uses five bands from did not meet the role to outstanding, and repeatably so, and a separate grid rating each part of the job as below, at or above the level, with a not seen column. Labels with meanings are easier to apply consistently than numbers alone.

Can an employee disagree with a review?

They should be able to, in writing. The example form asks whether the employee agrees with the overall rating, with options to agree partly or not, or to take time to respond in writing, and keeps a separate box for their own comment. A disagreement recorded at the time is far better than one raised months later.

Written by

Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder

Works across the builders and the export paths: how a form becomes a PDF, how a flyer canvas becomes a print file, and how a signed document carries its audit trail.

LinkedIn profile

Sources

Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked 21 October 2026.

Make your own form

Describe what you need and the generator writes and designs it, then you edit anything you like.

See what it can make